ABANDONED. Boy gets caned at school, winds up with bruised thumb or thumbnail, when his hand gets in the way

[Deanery]

I read this in the 1980s. It may be older than that - but I don't think that much older. I think the book was set in Australia.

A boy is going to get the cane at school. He expects to get it on the hand (which seems to be normal practice) but instead is told to bend over so he can be caned on the bottom. He puts his hand back to protect himself at one point and is caned on the thumb - I think, it might have been a finger, and he gets a bad bruise - maybe a bruised thumbnail. He shows this to the teacher apparently thinking that it will stop the punishment but the teacher is indifferent to the fact he's caused an injury and completes the punishment.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Is it children's, YA, or adult?

[Deanery]

Children's or YA - I can't be quite sure. Not adult.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Deanery, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Netta]

This sounds like Boy: Tales of Childhood if you are still looking. I don't remember the hand injury but I remember the caning scene. They were not expecting getting caned on the behind but had to pull their pants down and got hit on bare skin or at lest the underwear.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Deanery, are you still looking for this or did you find it?"

No response. Moving to Abandoned.

[Rainbowheart]

I know this is abandoned, but I think something similar happens in Danny the Champion of the World.